Cranston’s Catarina Girardi was crowned Miss Rhode Island’s Outstanding Teen on Saturday, May 30 at Rhode Island College in Roberts Auditorium.

Catarina is 16 years old and is an honor roll student in her junior year at St. Mary’s Academy Bay View. She is the daughter of Alfonso and Joyce Girardi, and sister of Joseph and Dominique Girardi.

Catarina’s platform for the pageant is “Behind the Screens: Overcoming Anti-Social Media and Cyberbullying.” For her talent portion of the competition, she performed a self-choreographed dance solo that told the story of her social media platform. Catarina discovered her love for dance at Atwood Performing Arts Inc., where she has been a student since age three and has won multiple titles, scholarships and awards. Catarina has a passion for the creative arts and looks forward to using her title as a way of sharing her skills and talents with the Ocean State’s youth.

As the new title holder for Rhode Island, Catarina will go on to compete in the Miss America Outstanding Teen pageant in Orlando, Fla., on Aug. 1, 2015. In her journey to Nationals, Catarina will participate in various community service events throughout Rhode Island.

The Miss Americas Outstanding Teen program encourages positive achievement by helping to nurture and build the scholastic achievement, creative accomplishment, healthy living and community involvement.